Frankenstein: Chapters 5-10 Primary and Secondary Blog Posts

11/9/2017

These images could depict some of the main plot points of Chapters 5-10. While these moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these four chapters.
After having read these chapters:
-Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best typifies the action and Shelley's authorial intent in this section of Frankenstein.
-Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
-Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions.

BE SURE TO POST YOUR WORD COUNT AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!!

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by the 11:59pm on Friday 11/10!

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by the start of class on Monday 11/13!

Thereza Dilwyn Llewelyn

11/10/2017 01:26:24 pm

"I stepped fearfully in: the apartment was empty; and my bedroom was also freed from its hideous guest. I could hardly believe that so great a good fortune could have befallen me; but when I became assured that my enemy had indeed fled, I clapped my hands for joy, and ran down to Clerval" (Shelley 54).

I find this quote very interesting. He is overjoyed due to the absence of his creature. His relief shows his true fear of what he created. If he had not been scared he would have been hopeful that the creature was there. This shows that he did not believe that his creature could do good things. This shows that his creature was never really pure like he hoped it would be. It is different from God because his creatures were innocent and then corrupted, but his creature was corrupted because of its creation and then the absence of its creator. The psychological effects of being left alone for so long would have had a terrible affect on its mind. It is said that prisoners left in solitary confinement for more than one day begin to lose their minds, so for him to leave the creature alone as long as he did would fill its mind with anger and resentment towards this master who abandoned him, so it really is of no surprise that it would do all of the terrible things it was accused of.
His care for his friend is interesting as well. He has often seemed a little unconcerned with the rest of the world, as shown by how he would be willing to create life as he did. At this moment though, he is concerned that the creature will be in his room and kill either himself or Clerval. This shows a human-like care for another person rather than the god-like one he has had in the past. I believe that this is his first step towards becoming a human being rather than the god he believed he used to be.

Thereza Dilwyn Llewwlyn

11/12/2017 01:39:38 pm

Word count is 283 words

Mary Treat

11/12/2017 02:26:50 pm

I actually would argue that the creature was born with moral sensibilities akin to that of any decent human being, showing that he wasn't a faceless monster when he was first created. It was Frankenstein who let things get out of hand, shunning the creature and thrusting it in a society with a hatred of the unfamiliar. In fact, one of the creature’s first actions as a being of life was to smile at his creator, which was responded with Frankenstein immediately abandoning him with no reason given whatsoever. The creature later says how he wished to be Frankenstein's Adam, but was instead treated like the devil (the fallen angel in this case). He blames his actions and current attitudes on his abandonment by Frankenstein, saying how it turned him from a benevolent being into one of misery and shame. In both cases, the creature shows that he obviously had a reason for doing the things he did, and highlights the role Frankenstein had in its portrayal as a monster.
(Word Count)=172

Katherine Marray Lyell

11/12/2017 11:58:34 pm

I totally agree with your response, since Victor never actually analyzed what he was planning on doing. Now, we can see how he truly feels about this creature and how much regret he is now feeling. I think, now he can clearly observe all his flaws and be fully aware of his actions. Before, he was so determined to create a life, that he never thought of what could go wrong. Like you said, “This shows that his creature was never really pure like he hoped it would be. It is different from God because his creatures were innocent and then corrupted, but his creature was corrupted because of its creation and then the absence of its creator”, This creature was created by a “modern god”, someone who just wanted to make new discoveries about science, someone who wanted to know more about life and death, someone who never took into consideration that science isn’t always right.
(Word count = 157)

Hannah Longshore

11/13/2017 06:30:12 am

I will first say that I find your argument or idea set interesting. However, I will disagree with you about the fact that the monster wasn’t innocent when first created because the novel showed him in a happy state when first made. But, as time continued to go on, Frankenstein up and left his creature, and with the absence of the creator, just as the absence of God, the creature, like people began to sin; although the creatures sin was murder. However, I do agree on the fact that Frankenstein is very happy to not see the creature, because he does fear it. This shows his regret for creating him in the first place.

Elizabeth Lomax

11/13/2017 08:42:26 am

I found your response to be very interesting. I agree with your statements of how Frankenstein finds relief in the absence of his monster, emphasizing how he failed to see any good in the creature. Frankenstein also did fail to play the role of God, as he was unable to bring life to a beautiful creature, and the corruption of the monster is definitely partially caused by the absence of his creator. I especially like how you mentioned that the psychological effects of being abandoned would have a significant impact on the creature, because one of the most basic concepts of psychology is that experiences we go through at a young age can shape the way we develop in the future.

Ella Church Strobell

11/13/2017 08:09:41 pm

I believe that Frankenstein creating the monster took a very big toll on him, resulting in him being ill for several months with Henry taking him into care. This caused him to be away from all of his loved ones, but even before the monster was created, I think that he lost touch with the reality because he is too focused on other things, like the creature.

Ella Church Strobell

11/13/2017 08:17:25 pm

To add onto my other short comment, I feel that because of his disconnect to the reality, he is not ashamed of what he made and now deeply regrets it which then causes him to ignore/shun out the creation.Though ignoring his OWN creation for two years also wasn't the best idea, he knew that it would not be able to do good, which also another reason I believe why he ignores his own responsibilities.
Word count= 143

Elizabeth Lomax

11/10/2017 10:04:56 pm

“The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 51).

In this quote from the beginning of Chapter 5, Victor expresses the feeling of revulsion he has after being successful in creating his creature. It took Victor about two years to bring the creature to life, and as a result of this, one would assume that he’d be happy with the end result. But this clearly was not the case. Frankenstein’s obsession with creating the creature was basically a dream which he hoped to accomplish, so when the creature was brought to life looking hideous, Frankenstein ended up feeling disappointed that his end result did not meet his expectations. His dream had now been transformed into a nightmare. This moment is an important event in the book because it it where Frankenstein has come to the realization that he has failed in his attempt to create something glorious--once again reiterating how Victor was unsuccessful in his attempt to play God. The reader can view this moment as a turning point in the storyline, because up until this point, Frankenstein was confident in his belief that he could successfully create a perfect creation, yet once he sees how horrific his creation truly is, he runs from it. All of this presents a significant conflict which will likely be addressed later in the plot.

(word count=289)

Thereza Dilwyn Llewelyn

11/12/2017 02:03:11 pm

I also find this quite interesting. I thought it was also interesting when he described how the creature had not been beautiful when it was dead, yet he believed that it would magically become beautiful once it was imbued with life. He is somewhat deluded considering that he always believes his dreams will become a reality like you said. I think it is very interesting that he is becoming very different from the god he believed he was. It is most important because it helps to show his hubris because he believed that when it came to creating life, he could do no wrong. I really like your idea of the conflict that will have to be addressed later is very interesting and likely correct especially because of the journey he took to find his creature later. It shows a big change because in the past he ran from the monster and then in the end he was looking for it.

Word Count = 161

Katherine Marray Lyell

11/13/2017 12:21:16 am

I think Victor’s expectations were too high from the beginning. Since God was able to create beautiful creatures, us, then maybe Victor thought he could do the same with the use of science. Obviously, it clearly didn’t work out because now he is trying to escape from his mistake. I think Victor isn’t the only one who has been in this situation; I think every human being has been in this similar situation where we tend to have such high expectations and we might not be satisfied with the outcome. Now, we just need to observe how this mistake shapes Victor’s personality and how he is emotionally affected.
(word count = 110)

Hannah Longshore

11/13/2017 08:49:36 am

I totally agree with what you said in this writing. It’s so funny to think that Frankenstein expected to create some creature and for it to be his greatest invention. Victor created the monster for about two years, and it came out ugly, which initiated his distance towards it. I also agree that Victor’s failure to produce his dream creature, shows his failed attempt in playing God. Unlike God, Victor runs away because of the appearance of his creature. If he truly was effective at “playing God” he would rule over his creation no matter the results, and he wouldn’t run away because of the hideousness.

(word count: 106)

Hannah Longshore

11/10/2017 10:22:07 pm

“While I watched the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific, I wandered on with a hasty step. This noble war in the sky elevated my spirits; I clasped my hands, and exclaimed aloud, "William, dear angel! this is thy funeral, this thy dirge!" As I said these words, I perceived in the gloom a figure which stole from behind a clump of trees near me; I stood fixed, gazing intently: I could not be mistaken. A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy daemon, to whom I had given life. What did he there? Could he be (I shuddered at the conception) the murderer of my brother?” (Shelley 68).

I decided to choose this passage because it deeply interested me. The novel blindly describes how the creature created by Frankenstein represents the natural world present in the reading. Frankenstein becomes disgusted with himself because he has created some hideous monster who seems to do no good. Not only is the creature ugly, which Frankenstein hates, but he has also committed an ugly crime. It becomes apparent that Frankenstein’s monster has killed his youngest brother, and has caused Justine to become executed. Frankenstein has now lost two important family members, and he is so ashamed to have created this monster. However, not only is the monster a mess, but the weather seems to reflect the monster’s wrongdoings. In the passage I chose, it states “A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me” (Shelley 68). This view of lightning can reflect the moment when the creature struck and killed William, Frankenstein’s little brother. The harsh actions of the ugly monster can be reflected in the beautiful natural world to show the parallelism between beauty and ugliness. Frankenstein decided to add a creature into the natural world, and he ended up with something that may be very disastrous. All in all, the creature’s ugly appearance may also equal his actions.

Mary Treat

11/12/2017 05:15:09 pm

I also agree that nature has a big part in the telling of Frankenstein's tale, as it acts as many things throughout it. There's the fact that Frankenstein loves spring and summer (which symbolize the birth and vibrancy of life), but has a terrible experience after shutting himself off from the outside world to work on building his creature, evident by his horror from seeing his project finished/ being sick for months for just thinking about his creation. This separation of nature and man could have prompted the creature’s label as a monster by Frankenstein and, most likely, the rest of society. It was created in an environment devoid of anything natural, in a manner consistent with the ravenous workings of a madman. Considering all this, it would make sense that the product of all this would be the creation of something antithetical to nature itself, hence its identity being tied to being an abomination.
Word Count= 158

Elizabeth Lomax

11/13/2017 08:30:39 am

I completely agree with your statements here. After creating the creature which he has been so obsessed with, Frankenstein becomes disgusted not only by its horrific appearance, but also by the reality of what he has just done. He has spent an incredible amount of time and effort on this project, only to find out that his efforts at creating a beautiful creature were in vain. I also find it interesting how you chose to speak on the weather and its possible symbolic role in the context of the quote. It definitely could be that Mary Shelley's intention of incorporating the lightning was to highlight the monster's wrongdoings, too.

Jantina Tammess

11/10/2017 11:44:11 pm

“How can I move thee? Will no entreaties cause thee to turn a favourable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and compassion? Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow-creatures who owe me nothing?” (Shelley 89).

This quote is taken when Victor is out climbing mountains to keep out the guilt of killing two people. At first, Victor is angry and vengeful towards the creature because of the circumstances, the creature tell of what's happening with him and everyone

I think this is an important quote because it shows the creature’s feelings about being abandoned almost immediately after being reborn. It shows that he didn't start off as evil and terrible as Victor would like to think. He thinks highly of Victor and mankind. But here, the feelings he had started to drift away.

The creature recognizes Victor as the one who created him. He sees Victor as some sort of “God”. He was given life by this man that he so barely saw.

I feel that Shelley put this here to show us that in the beginning, the creature was pretty harmless, and might've actually adored Victor. Even though Victor was never present, just as other faiths, the Creature still wholeheartedly believe in him no matter what.

However, when the creature woke up and was immediately shunned by Victor, as well as when they were encountered again. It possibly shows where the downfall of the Creature’s moral action. If your “God” thought you were an abomination, many people wouldn't take that in a good way. In the case of the Creature, he mentions that as soon as he realized that he couldn't fit into society, that his creator hated him, and he was actually just alone for the rest of his life, the descent began where he possibly started to become a monster. This scene is important for the Creature’s character, to show the reader the softer side of Frankenstein as well as the Creature.

Jantina Tammes

11/12/2017 06:46:20 pm

Word Count=290

Jantina Tammes

11/12/2017 06:55:10 pm

I was also half asleep when I wrote this. Do not hold me accountable for what Jantina-A.M. did.

Olga Fedchenko

11/13/2017 08:59:41 pm

Well, regardless of how tired and sleep-deprived you may have been writing this, you made some pretty awesome points. I never thought about why the creature acted the way he did, though from the AP Psych perspective, it totally makes sense; of course he ended up messed up in the head, that's what happens to all wild children, I think it's very possible Victor realizes this at this point as well, as his guilt is evidently clear for being almost completely at fault.

Z'Sofia Torma

12/6/2017 11:36:51 am

You have made very valid points here regarding the beginning of the creature’s life. When he was first born he wasn’t “evil” or “dangerous”. He was just a young child trapped in a gigantic body. In the quote you used, he touches upon the fact that he looked at Victor as a parent, almost; and when Victor walked away from him, that was when his mental health began to deteriorate, just like any human being’s would if their parents left them with no one to take care of them. This makes me wonder how the book would have turned out if Victor had never abandoned the creature.
Word Count: 106

Mary Treat

11/10/2017 11:51:21 pm

“When happy, inanimate nature had the power of bestowing on me the most delightful sensations. A serene sky was indeed divine; the flowers of spring bloomed in the hedges, while those of summer were already in bud” (Shelley 63).

In these chapters, nature present an interesting way of foreshadowing or indicating that a certain mood or thing is going to occur. Spring and summer are generally associated with the birth/vibrancy of life and a generally positive mood, while winter is generally used to represent death/the end of something and a general negative mood. This instance specifically shows how elated Frankenstein is while enjoying the splendors of spring, which really contrasts how he felt during the years he was inside (either working on the creature or being ill) and away from nature. His reintegration back into nature seems to bring out the best in him, leaving him in a better state of mind then when he was separated from it. When building the creature, for example, we get a description about that particular summer being “a most beautiful season”, yet he separates himself from nature entirely to feverishly work on his creature (Shelley 49). He misses the typical spring sights he usually adores seeing (flowers blooming, leaves growing) in favor of working on his project, and the chapter leaves us with the image of withering leaves as he describes how close he is to completion, along with the accompanying anxiety/ fever that came with that progress. The dying winter leaves give off a negative connotation that ends up coinciding with the end of his project. Here, nature could have been foreshadowing Frankenstein’s ultimate feelings on his creature, as his characterization of it as an abomination might’ve had do with the fact that it was made in an environment separate from nature, completely devoid of the majestic/acceptable version of life Frankenstein was going for. After all, he set out to make a being of life, not a monster.

Mary Treat

11/11/2017 11:55:22 pm

Word Count=329
I forgot on the initial upload, whoops

Thereza Dilwyn Llewelyn

11/12/2017 02:15:11 pm

I find your ideas on nature very interesting. I think it is very interesting that he would hide from the good weather to make the creature, which would be considered against the laws of nature. Then, like you said, we see the dying winter which is essentially the end of death. This could be foreshadowing how at the time he was essentially ending death, at least for his creation. It makes me wonder if it's possible that the seasons are almost mimicking life, of the creature or of the nature of Dr. Frankenstein's. Beyond this, I like the discussion of mood. There is a lot to be said of the tone and the reaction it elicits from the audience because of the good weather and the fact that it seems strange to be eluding it. At this moment though, there is this bright mood which helps to show Frankenstein's emotions because of how they were contrasting the seasons most of the time.

Word Count = 162

Jantina Tammes

11/12/2017 07:03:47 pm

I really like how you brought up how Nature might be a foreshadowing device. I never thought of the passage that way, and it intrigues me. I agree with how Nature might be showing Victor's future feelings on the creature, but I also feel like it showed the bigger event of the Creature going wrong.

I think when Victor detaches himself from Nature, as you pointed out, that's when things start to go wrong with him. He focuses solely on the Creature, and the next time he acknowledges Nature, it's already fall.

I can't help but think his horror of the Creature is a punishment of Nature, because of how ignorant he became. He tried to create something that was meant to be completely natural, trying to throw Nature out of a job and now Nature is punishing him for his efforts.

(Word Count: 142)

Olga Fedchenko

11/13/2017 08:53:47 pm

This response blew my mind. The description of how therapeutic entering nature was to Victor through his own words on the season of life and color truly helped me to form a reader-to-character bond and better understand how badly he wanted to escape from his stresses. You're idea that nature could be foreshadowing Victor's feelings on the creature was surprising to me, as I had previously thought that he considered the monster his experiment on proving life from galvanism, rather than an affectionately built new life. But I liked it, now I can see many different faces of Victor and his motives, rather than a single-motive mind like myself.

Olga Fedchenko

11/11/2017 12:11:18 am

"I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. for this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart" (Shelley 51).

This passage, after reading all five chapters of this week, still struck me as the most powerful display of romanticism present in Frankenstein. Victor himself admits that he had installed a false-reality idea of what the monster would be- or be the start of, if that whole "new, perfect race" plan worked out- through the degree of planning he put into the inanimate person. I believe Shelley's main purpose here was to hint towards the theme that we cannot expect an exact or precise outcome of something never done before through showing the contrast between what Victor was expecting and hopeful to achieve and what actually occurred when his dreams came true. By showing Victor's own reflections over his actions upon meeting his creation, Shelley presents this idea to readers in a personalized way through Victor's guilt; his regretful tone in the way he describes seeing the monster for the first time, first joyful and full of pride, then filled with disgust and terror moments after the reality sunk in. This Passage also represents the first time Victor felt the power of "playing God" and determining another beings state of living, as well as reassuring him that his chosen field of science to believe in was justified and real. By indirectly revealing readers this information, Shelley further proves that her purpose is to prove that we cannot be sure of the outcome when involving the unknown.

Jantina Tammes

11/12/2017 06:53:50 pm

This is a really interesting perspective on this passage, and I agree with what you've said. I do think that Victor took a huge gamble in playing God, and despite all the time and effort he put into the Creature, it came out completely different than he realized. I like how you took into account the tone of this passage, going from delight to disgust.

Victor was the perfect example in showing Shelley's purpose as you said, because he took on the unknown for his own satisfaction and it came with unknown outcomes. I also feel like there wasn't much said in this passage, but as readers we could still feel the horror of the situation without much imagery.

(Word Count: 119)

Ella Church Strobell

11/13/2017 08:31:31 pm

I agree on your explanation.I almost feel as if karma struck him very hard. All those years of his life that he took the majority on only focusing on scientific things that led up the moment he made his creation come to life, only to be disappointed because he was ashamed and terrified of the outcome.

In my opinion, I think Mary Shelley was trying to hint that no one or anything in general can ever be perfect or that things can’t always go as planned. I totally believe that the words “delight” to “disgust” fit perfectly of how Frankenstein feels in this situation. It was either a hit or miss and in this case, unfortunately it was a really bad miss. Not just for Frankenstein, but also his loved ones like William who was murdered by his creation. His life keeps going downhill from there and I think this is the cause of him not taking responsibility of his actions, which is accepting his horrific creature.
Word Count= 170

Z'Sofia Torma

12/5/2017 09:05:45 am

I believe that your use of the term "false-reality" is a perfect way to describe what Victor has done in creating the creature. As you said, he had himself convinced that by creating the creature, he would be creating a new and perfect race, but from an outsiders perspective, we can see that there is no way that this could be true. The way that Victor has created the creature was so morbid and unethical, there is no way that people would look up to him as "God" or find this to be the "perfect race". But Victor has created this false-reality for himself that if he creates the creature, he will finally be recognized and looked up to like no one has ever been before.

Ynes Returns

12/6/2017 11:05:44 am

Word count: 126

Katherine Marray Lyell

11/12/2017 05:52:54 pm

"Like one who, on a lonely road,/ Doth walk in fear and dread,/ And, having once turned round, walks on,/ And turns no more his head:/ Because he knows a frightful fiend/ Doth close behind him tread." (Shelley 53).

At this point in the novel Frankenstein, we can observe that Victor has finally completed giving life to a plain lifeless object. However, he is immediately horrified when his creation comes to life and begins to worry, since he realizes that he has created a monster. At this point, Victor doesn’t know what to do, and he cannot sleep at night because he is so horrified by the monster that he has created. Eventually, he starts to wander the streets in the pouring rain because he doesn’t want to go back to the place where it all started. As readers, we can notice that Victor’s determination to create this creature has led to the feelings of lost and struggle he is now going through. Such feelings are becoming stronger because Victor has realized that he has created a creature that doesn’t belong in Earth, a creature who will cause harm among others if adequate actions aren’t taken. This creature begins to follow his “master” and spies on him. After Victor created the monster he states, “I continued walking in this manner for some time, endeavoring my bodily exercise to ease the load that weighed upon my mind. I traversed the streets without any clear conception of where I was or what I was doing. My heart palpitated in the sickness of fear, and I hurried on with irregular steps not daring to look about me” (Shelley, 52). Clearly, Victor is afraid to look around, and find his creation spying on him. Moreover, he begins to feel extremely guilty of his actions, and eventually becomes another person.
(word count = 266)

Z'Sofia Torma

12/5/2017 08:59:22 am

“I saw plainly that he was surprised, but he never attempted to draw my secret from me; and although I loved him with a mixture of affection and reverence that knew no bounds, yet I could never persuade myself to confide in him that event which was so often present to my recollection, but which I feared the detail to another would only impress more deeply.” (6.12)
Throughout the entirety of the book so far I have truly empathized with Victor due to his feeling of disconnection from the world despite the amount of happiness and support he has around him. In this quote, he discusses how he feels separated from Henry because of the weight he is carrying on his shoulders. He has done something never done by anyone else before; created life out of death, yet he feels he is unable to share it with even his closest friend in fear of judgement and Henry seeing him differently. Although I do not understand these feelings fully, I truly empathize with Victor as he discusses this burdening secret he has to carry with his every single day. It makes me wonder how Victor is able to continue on his life without searching for the creature. I imagine that he worries about where the creature is and what it is doing, yet he makes no move to attempt and discover where the creature’s life has ended up. Something else that this quote makes me think of is what Henry’s reaction would be if Victor were to tell him about the creature. Would Henry truly be that baffled? He knows that Victor is a completely science-minded person and that he craves to be something, anything really. Of course Henry would never guess that Victor would one day stitch together dead bodies and create life, but I don’t think that it would be such a surprise to him that Victor would do something to this extent. Henry is one of the few people who have had a glimpse into the complexes of Victor’s mind; therefore, he should know of Victor’s talent and yearning.

Word Count: 284

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